RANGERS OF LIGHT, MONSTERS OF SHADOWS
ARC 1: RISE OF THE EMERALD KNIGHT
CHAPTER 1
THE MASTER'S NEW KNIGHT
Tommy was driving his jeep back home from Reefside High, but suddenly he felt a crippling pain searing through his body, before a paralyzing panic seized him. An anxiety that he couldn't explain in any way, yet his heart started hammering and his breath became shallow… as if someone was throttling him slowly. He tried to focus his mind, back to driving his car… to at least safely parking it by the road till he got a grip on himself.
He didn't have a clue what was going on… Why was he suddenly having a panic attack?
Except he couldn't even continue driving… His hands let go of the steering wheel as they began to shake uncontrollably…
His jeep swerved wildly, going sideways… He couldn't even close his eyes, his body numb and unresponsive to his mental commands as he stayed still while he was about to be in a stupid accident…
Except something else happened… something familiar.
A bright crimson light enveloped him, teleporting him away seconds before the car collided against a tree.
Tommy shook his head. Everything was fuzzy… The last thing he remembered was his body going numb and losing control of his car.
Everything around him seemed to be dark with a bright speck of red in the centre. His vision slowly blurred into focus, and his senses went into high alert.
He was in a catacomb of sorts, and the red speck was actually what seemed to be a Lovecraftian monster hovering over him.
He wanted to prance into a fighting stance, but he found that he was still immobile as before… somehow standing still like a statue, his hands glued to his sides.
"Who are you?" He asked. "And what have you done to me?"
A red tentacle extended from the monster, gently caressing his cheek and Tommy wanted to squirm away, yet he couldn't.
"I am the Master and you, Tommy Oliver, have quite the power despite being just a measly human… Power which will be mine." He hissed.
"Stop." He growled, as the monster landed on the ground in front of him.
The tentacle shoved him to the ground, before red light flared around his body, posturing it to a kneeling position.
"Let me go, whoever you are." He repeated.
Tommy mentally cursed himself. He had retired. When would he get a break from the ranger craziness?
Moreover, this monster wasn't anyone he recognized. But then again, all his former enemies had legions of devoted followers, and not all evil were purged in Zordon's wave. It could easily be someone out for revenge.
"Why would I let you go, Tommy, when you will be the one leading my army of darkness to victory?" His captor leered at him, and he felt a sudden chill jolt down his spine.
Not again.
Never again.
"No." He gulped. "I won't work for you."
"You don't have any choice, my boy." The Master laughed. "The spell has already begun, and it will be moments before you are subservient to my command."
"Why are you doing this? I don't even know you!" he yelled.
"Oh, but you do."
Tommy stopped.
"Granted I look different than the last time we met, but I assure you, you have been quite the thorn in my plans before. It's quite ironic that now, you will lead my forces to victory."
"I won't. I will fight you." He seethed.
"Correction. You will fight for me. The spell should be setting in, right now…"
Just as he said it, Tommy felt something in his mind… a searing pain that threatened to overwhelm everything. He screamed.
"NO! I won't give in!" He croaked between his screams.
"Resistance is futile, Tommy. I own your soul."
"Like hell, you do!" He spat.
"Hush!" and suddenly, Tommy realised he couldn't open his mouth, not even to scream.
He glared at the Master, defiant.
"I grow tired of this…" He sighed. "I had thought of easing you into my service, but I am known to be quite impatient."
He snapped his fingers and if he could, Tommy would have screamed his lungs out. It was like a thousand electric jolts firing simultaneously through his body, and his body being forced to remain still, instead of convulsing…
"Things are coming full circle… You robbed me of my greatest prize and now, you will be the key to acquiring an even greater power." The Master continued, oblivious to his suffering.
And despite the pain, Tommy wondered who this enemy might be… Lord Zedd? Goldar? Mesagog?
Whoever it was, he was not going to surrender… Even if the alternative was frying his brains.
He let the pain in.
Yet it never stopped.
"Do you know who my enemy is, Tommy? The woman I made, and the woman who made you… Rita Repulsa. Once she conquered galaxies in my name, the apple of my eye, and now… She stands against me as the Mystic Mother."
Rita was a force of good now? And given this man's words… was this guy, Zedd? Didn't he turn good like Rita and Divatox?
Maybe, he reverted to evil… Zordon gave him a fresh slate, and he threw it away.
And he now wanted one thing he always wanted… for Tommy to serve him.
Despite his resistance, he felt the pain take over… He couldn't even think… His thoughts becoming mush.
Then, there was silence.
Peaceful silence.
Like an ice pack over a bruise.
Gently washing away his pain.
Except it washed everything away.
He knew who he was, what he stood for… But he simply didn't care. All he did care about was his Master.
He looked up, this time his eyes full of devotion, and the Master grinned, flashing his teeth. Despite his grotesque appearance, his joy was clearly visible.
"I am yours to command, my Master." Tommy spoke, lowering his head, the spell restraining his body vanishing.
"Good." The Master grinned. "And now I grant you powers beyond your wildest imagination… Magic and knowledge your precious Zordon had never cared to share… Under my tutelage, you will become everything you were destined to be…"
"Yes, my Master." He said fervently.
Dark energies converged around him, manifesting out of thin air in response to his Master's will and imbuing him with power… power beyond anything he had felt before.
More powerful than the White Light, and even the Zeo Crystal.
Then it felt the power envelop him, before shaping into something familiar… An armour, yet it was metallic and regal, nothing like the spandex suits he had worn as a ranger.
His visor was tinted red, and his armour was dark green… It had been a while since he wore the colour. His first colour.
The Master's tentacle patted his head, before lifting his chin up.
"Perfect…" He said appraisingly. "Now rise, my Emerald Knight!"
As commanded, Tommy stood up, and as he did, a shield appeared in one hand, and a sword in the other.
"What is your command, my Master?" He asked.
"Go to the surface realm, and defeat the Mystic Ones."
"As you wish, my Master." He said eagerly, barely registering a buzz at the back of his mind, the last shred of his true self…
He had been a pawn of evil before, but never had he felt such tremendous power…
Tommy knew there was nothing he wouldn't do, no lengths he wouldn't cross to fulfil his Master's wishes and all he hoped was that the Power Rangers would be able to save him, or at the very least stop him.
Hope you liked this chapter, and please review. :)